Sydney Roosters produced a brilliant performance to defeat Penrith in their last game. The Roosters shot out of the blocks and were 18-0 up after just 16 minutes with that doing enough to rock the Panthers as they went on to win 32-6.

Boyd Cordner is out with the head knock he suffered late on during his Man of the Match performance in Origin whilst Joseph Manu is suspended. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves is only named amongst the reserves after he was delayed on his return from the Denver Test with the door opened for Lindsay Collins and Matthew Ikavalu to come onto the bench.

The Roosters have won four consecutive games and a fifth win in a row would see them leapfrog the Storm whilst potentially forcing their way into the top 4.

Melbourne were too good for Newcastle as they maintained the pressure on the top 4. The Storm were able to overcome the late withdrawal of Billy Slater as they scored a comfortable 10-28 win.

Slater returns at fullback against the Roosters with Jahrome Hughes reverting to the bench in place of Sam Kasiano who is set for an extended spell on the sidelines after rupturing his PCL.

Three wins in a row has equalled the Storm’s run of most consecutive wins this season and a fourth win here would not only beat that but also open up a two point gap over the Roosters.

THE PREDICTION

This blockbuster encounter has all of the ingredients to be the game of the Round 16 with the main storyline being Cooper Cronk facing the Storm for the first time since he opted to leave Melbourne at the end of last season. Coming up against his former employers for the first time is bound to be a strange feeling for Cronk but his Roosters teammates will be hoping he can guide them to an important victory. Both teams are in good form heading into this but the Roosters looked ominous against the Panthers and if they can replicate that form then they will notch their fifth consecutive win.

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